This series, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth, unveils the backstage of contemporary creation. Tackling various topics from personal designer processes to the position of collectible design on the global design market, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth offers different views to suit all tastes. Today we speak with Clara Jorisch.

C: Can you talk about a new piece/collection that you released for COLLECTIBLE this year?

Clara Jorisch: For COLLECTIBLE New York, I am showing my latest blown glass furniture pieces, called the Melted Glass series, because of their liquid-ish appearance. They are made from an assembly of blown glass elements and ultra-clear glass plates. Due to the transparency of the materials, they always partially escape view. The shape of the furniture only reveals itself to the eye when reflective plays diffuse its contours. Its soft and fluid shapes give the impression of melting and transforming under the effect of light and flowing water. It appears frozen in a transitional state, like an impossible object that opens the door to imagination. 

C: How do you question or challenge functionality in your design process?

CJ: For me, with the Melted Glass series there’s a notion of “surrealism” in every piece I make. I am only using the furniture as a representation of an ordinary everyday object that people can identify and relate to (exemple; The glass chair). People are more sensible to things they can recognize, the functional part only helps make that connection.

C: What have you been up to recently?

CJ: I have been working a lot with Pate de Verre lately. It’s cooked glass in a kiln. I am experimenting a lot with glass waste to turn it into new sculptural pieces. For now, those glass studies have only been a great revelation in a very naïve way. I hope to expose a series of these smaller objects (made out of waste) later this year.

C: What kind of material trends or changes are you noticing? In what way are these shifts influencing collectible design?

CJ: The notion of « Noble" design in the COLLECTIBLE world has always existed. This same notion of Noble versus Poor implies the material a designer works with. What is interesting now is that young designers are breaking down these boundaries as they are very aware of the climate crisis - there’s this urge to find new ways of producing with waste. I think it’s great, and I love the irony of turning trash into something collectible. It’s a bit punk and provocative.

C: How do sustainability-related questions influence your practice?

CJ: I like to experiment, make and produce. In this desire to get closer and more involved in the experimentation with the material, I've reached the point where industrial glass has become unsustainable, and I am currently developing new ways of working with recycled glass. In the past months I’ve experimented a lot with glass waste to turn it into new sculptural pieces.

C: What has changed the past couple of years in the young scene of collectible design? 

CJ: Like many young people my age, my approach to design is one of degrowth and inclusion. I think the place of design in the world is changing. The current issues and needs are no longer the same as at the start of industrialization, and perhaps a philosophical reversal is taking place. The Big industries are misaligned with the values of younger generations. There's a significant revival of vernacular craft techniques and low-tech productions. Designers are getting more involved in their productions, and lots of them are not just designers but also makers. 

C: How did you get into collectible design? Why did you focus your practice on this type of design rather than industrial design? 

CJ: Even though I consider myself a designer, I don’t intend to make a utilitarian or an abstract statement with any of my pieces; they happen, and it’s just a back-and-forth between design, art, and crafts. I ended up making collectible pieces because I always approached objects more like a visual experience, and I am fascinated with glass and all the ancient techniques and new techniques that give versatility to materials.

For me, In industrial design, there is this notion of complaisance because you’re pleasing the masses. You are doing it for the industries, with the industries. In collectible pieces, the dialogue is different; you're not pleasing people with function, price, and needs. The approach is more sculptural, the furniture has a more creative nature, and it’s intrinsically linked with the material.